A Tarrant County judge cleared Northwest ISD to keep building pre-K centers, dismissing a lawsuit that a Flower Mound childcare owner had hoped would slow the district's expansion.

Judge Donald Cosby of the 67th District Court threw out the case Tuesday, Sept. 29, ruling that the Texas Licensed Child Care Association (TLCCA) should seek relief from the Texas Education Agency rather than the courts. The association and Roanoke-based Horizon Kidz had sued to block Northwest ISD from constructing three additional early childhood facilities.

Hemant Patel, who owns childcare centers in Flower Mound, Carrollton and the Keller area, traveled to the hearing prepared to testify. He never got the chance.

Patel told the Denton Record-Chronicle that Lewisville ISD once selected one of his centers for a pre-K partnership, but the district later dropped those plans. He said he remains open to working with school districts. Partnerships let districts add pre-K seats without building new classrooms, and private providers keep the 4-year-olds whose tuition sustains their business.

The lawsuit centered on a state requirement that districts solicit proposals from private childcare providers before expanding their own pre-K programs. TLCCA argued Northwest ISD did not follow TEA guidelines issued in July 2019. The district denied the allegations, saying it posted a request for proposals over two weeks in February 2020 and received no responses, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Northwest ISD declined to comment after the hearing, citing pending litigation.

Northwest ISD's pre-K enrollment nearly doubled, growing from 565 students in the 2022-23 school year to more than 1,000 by 2024-25. A $4 billion bond package voters approved in 2023 funded the expansion. The district opened the Dr. David Hicks Early Childhood Center during the current school year, the first of four planned centers.

The financial pressure on private providers is steep. Heather Dehoyos-Williams, owner of Horizon Kidz in Roanoke and a co-plaintiff, told the Star-Telegram she can serve 22 children in the 4-year-old age group but has only seven enrolled. "I normally make my revenue from pre-K. If they do decide to open another pre-K (facility), I will have to close my doors," she said after the hearing.

TLCCA President Tim Kaminski said the association plans to meet with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to seek clearer guidance for districts. Attorney Andrew Alvarado, representing the plaintiffs, said the judge indicated an appeals court could rule within 60 days, potentially before Northwest ISD breaks ground on its second center planned for next spring.